Canada’s Bombardier laying off 1,700 workers

TORONTO — Bombardier plans 1,700 layoffs from its aerospace division as it deals with a tough market and delays in its much-touted CSeries single-aisle plane.

The Montreal-based company disclosed the decision to its workforce an internal memo that says affected employees will be notified in the coming weeks, Bombardier spokeswoman Haley Dunne said Tuesday.

Bombardier Inc. said it needs to preserve cash amid delays in the CSeries commercial jet and Learjet 85 business jet as well as due to tough market conditions.

About 1,100 of 22,200 Bombardier Aerospace employees in Canada are affected by the pending layoffs, about 80 percent in Montreal. In the United States, another 600 of 5,700 positions are affected.

The layoffs represent 6 percent of the workforce at Bombardier Aerospace, one of the company’s two main divisions. Bombardier is also one of the world’s largest producers of equipment for transit systems.

Bombardier announced earlier this month it is delaying again the in-service launch of its much-touted CSeries single-aisle airline to the second half of 2015. The company had said the plane would be ready for service later this year. Bombardier has 198 firm orders, less than anticipated.

On Monday, Bombardier also said it received 19 percent fewer new orders for all of its commercial and business aircraft last year than in 2012.